Electric clock.



PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906.

H. IVERSEN. ELECTRIC CLOCK.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 1a. 1900.

1770672 for )Ze/z/' av mw SW dH/W' PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906,

H. IVBRSEN. ELECTRIC CLOCK. APPLICATION FILED snrr.1a.1905.

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HENRY IVERSEN, OF CORSIGANA, TEXAS.

ELECTRIC CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1906.

Application filed September 16, 1905. Serial No 278,741.

To all whmn 7'2 may concern:

Be it known that I, IIENRY IVERSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Corsicana, in the county of Navarro and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Im provenients in Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a novel clock system in which a secondar clock or a series of secondary clocks are e ectrically operated from a master-clock.

The inventionhas to do more particularl with the construction of the secondary clock and with the circuit'breaker operated from the master-clock.

It is the object of the invention to provide a system whereby a series of clocks ma be located at any number of different loca ities in a city or in different rooms of a building and be operated from a master-clock, so that all the secondary clocks will be caused to keep uniform time with the masterclock. By such a system it is only necessary to regulate the master-clock to insure that all of the secondary cocks keep uniform time therewith.

In order that the invention ma be clearly understood, I have illustrated t e same in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a'secondary clock. Fig. 2 is a front view of the master-clock. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the secondary clock. Fig. 4 is a detail view illustrating one position of the o crating and locking-arms, the locking-arm eing in an inoperative position. Fig. 5 is a similar view with the operating-arm in an inoperative position. Fig. 6 is a detail view of one member of a circuitbreaker, and Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the circuit-breaker of t e master-clock electrically connected with the electromagnets of a secondary clock, together with the mechanism operated by said electromagnets, and a circuit make and break device for setting the hands of the secondary clock inde endently of the movement of the master-clock.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 indicates the master-clock, which comprises the ordinary clockwork mechanism with arbors 2 3 for the minute and hour hands, respectively. On the shaft 4 of the escapement-wheel 5 of this clock is secured to turn with said shaft a rotary make-and break device 6, having an outer circumferential layer 7 of hard rubber or other insulating material, in which is embedded at three or more equidistant points around the circumference contact-pieces 8, of suitable metal, preferably platinum.

9 10 indicate two similar contact-arms which are secured u on insulating-blocks 11 12, said insulatinglocks being independently and loosely mounted upon a journal 13, carried by a bracket-frame 14, secured to the frame 15 of the master-clock. The ends of the contact-arms 9 10 rest upon a rotary contact-maker 6 and are ada ted to make contact at their outer ends wit the contactpieces 8 as the rotary contact-maker is revolved by the clockwork mechanism of the master-clock.

16 indicates a secondary clock, in the frame 17 of which the mechanism of said clock is mounted. Said mechanism includes two electromagnets 18 and 19, respectively. From the rear end of the contact-arm 9 a wire -20 passes to the electromagnet 18. From the rear end of the contact-arm 10 a wire- 21 passes to and is connected with one pole of an electric battery 22. A wire 23 connects the other pole of said battery with the electromagnet 19.

24 indicates an armature Which is substantiall segment-shaped, as shown, and is pivotal y sup orted by bearings 25 at opposite ends in SHRES of the frame 17. The cores 26 of the electromagnets are curved to conform to the curved side of the armature, and when said electromagnets are energized the armature will be caused to rotate on its bearings 25, or, in other words, swee across the up er surfaces of the cores 26. 'l he pur use of t con struction will be presently exp ained.

Secured centrally to the upper side of the armature 24 and extending at right angles from opposite sides thereof is a lever-arm 27, loosely secured or swiveled, toward the outer end of which is a depending operating-arm 28. On the outer end of said lever-arm is mounted an adjustable weight 29. Secured toward the upper end of the operating-arm 28 is a bracketarm 30, rovided with an offset portion having an e ongated slot 31, which Works over the outer end of the lever-arm 27. The purpose of the bracketarm 30 is to insure uniformity of movement to the operating-arm 28. In the lower end of the operating-arm 28 is secured a pin 32, havin an upper inclined side, as indicated at 33 in ig. 5. This pin is adapted to engage in any one of a circular series of apertures 34, formed in a wheel 35, which is fixedly secured on a shaft 36, which latter is rotated from said wheel. A guidearm 37 is pivotally mounted at one end on the shaft 36 and at its other end is pivotally secured to the butt-end of the pin 32, the purpose of this guide-arm being to insure the travel of the pin 32 in an arc concentric with the periphery of the wheel 35, so that the said pin 32 will always be in position at the proper time to engage in one of the apertures 34 of said wheel. Secured to the operating-arm 28 and projecting from one side thereof is a stud 38, reinforced or held rigid by means of a block 39. Extending between the side members 17 of the secondary clock, near the upper end thereof, is a rigid bar 40, secured centrally in and projecting from one side of which is a pintle 41, on which is pivotally mounted the up er end of a locking-bar 42. The lower end 0 this locking-bar is provided with a locking-pin 43, which is adapted to engage in one or the other of the holes 34 of the Wheel 35. Intermediate its ends the lockingbar 42 is rovided with a stud 44, reinforced by a blocfi 45, and carries on its outer end a d1amond-shaped cam 46, which is positioned to cooperate with the stud 38, carried by the operating-lever 28. The operation of the locking arm and of the operating-arm will be readily understood from an inspection of the dra s and may be briefly described as follows: on the magnets 18 and 19 are energized, the armature 24 will be attracted by the cores 26, which willcause the outer end of the lever-arm 27 to be drawn downward in opposition to the weight 29 at the opposite end. The lever-arm 27 in its downward movement carries the operating-arm 28 downward, and, as the pin 32 is inengagement with one of the apertures 34 in the wheel 35, said wheel will be revolved. In the downward movement of the operating-arm 28 the stud 38 thereon will engage one side of the cam 46 on the lockingarm 42 and cause said arm to be swung outward to move its pin 43 from en agement with an aperture of the wheel 35. n the further downward movement of the operating-arm 28 the Wheel 35 will therefore be rotated through a greater or less are of a circle, depending upon the len th of throw of said operating-arm. The imit of downward movement of said operating-arm may be accurately adjusted by means of a screw 47, passed vertically through and having screwthreaded en agement with the bar 40, as shown b 1. As said operating-arm reaches t e downward limit of movement the stud 38 asses off of the cam 46 and allows the locking-bar 42 to swing inward, so that its pin 43 may again pass into a succeeding aperture 34, which Wlll have been brought into register with said pin by the predetermined movement of the wheel 35, actuated by the operating-arm 28.

As will be clearly seen from an ins ection of Figs. 2 and 7, the circuit throu h t 1e battery and the electromagnets wil be closed when in the rotation of the contact-maker 6 one of the contact-pieces 8 comes into engagement with the contact-arms 9 and 10. When this occurs, the electromagnets are energized and the downward movement of the operating-arm 28 follows, as above described. When the contact-piece 8 passes from under the contact-arms 9 and 10, the latter descend upon the insulating material 7, and thus break the circuit, deenergizing the electromagnets and permitting the weight 29 to again raise the outer end of the lever-arm 27. This latter movement will carry the operating-arm 28 upward. At the beginning of this upward movement of the operating-arm its stud 38 will engage the opposite side of the cam 46 from that which it 'irst engaged, due to the fact that the lock ing-bar has swun inward, as just above described, and in' t e further upward movement of said operating-arm the latter will be caused to be swung outward by the stud 38 riding over said cam, thereby withdrawing the in 32 from an aperture in the wheel 35. As t e lever-arm 27 reaches its upward limit of movement the stud 38 will pass off of the cam 46, and the said operating-arm will swing inward and its pin 32 a ain enga e in the next succeeding hole 34 o the whee 35.

In order to insure the prompt rengage' ment of the pin 32 witht e eel 35 after the stud 38 asses ofl the cam, I provide on the outer si e of the operating-arm, near the top thereof, a lever-arm 48, on which is mounted an adjustable weight 49, and the action of this weight willnot only cause the immediate return of theoperating-arm to its normal position, but will also hold the pin 32 in engagement with one of the holes of the wheel 35 under a yielding resistance, so that there will be no tendency on the art of the pin 32 to slide out of the hole-34 In which it may be inserted in the movement of the operating-arm until the engagementof the stud 38 with the cam 46causes such action; In the case of the operating-arm 28, which, as will be seen, moves in arcs of circles in directions at right angles to each other, I can better re late the movement of said arm by means 0 a weight carried thereby. In the case of the locking-arm 42, however, which has only a single arc of movement, I employ a sprin 50 to insure its prompt return to the' vertica position after the stud 38 has passed from engagement with the cam 46. The movement of the lever-arm 27 is adjusted so that the pin 32 will always be moved: by said arm a distance equal to the distance separating the centers of two of the apertures 34, so that said apertures will always be brought to alinement withthe pins 32 and 43, The upward movement of the leverarm 27 is regulated bynieans of an adjustingscrew 51, having screw-threaded enga ement with a bracket-arm 52, secured on t ie frame.

The shaft 36, which is rotated by the wheel 35, carries a pinion 53, which is in mesh with a gear-wheel 54, fixedly secured on a shaft 55, The outer end of said shaft is s uared, as indicated at 56, to provide an ai bor for the minute-hand of the secondary clock and may also be provided with a small thumb-nut 57 for turning the hands of the clock, as hereinafter described. Fixedly secured on the shaft 55 is a cannon-pinion 58, which is in mesh with a gear 59, carrying apinion 60, which in turn is in mesh with a gear 61, carrying an arbor 62 for the -hour hand of the clock. The center pinion 54 and cannon-pinion 58 are so firmly secured upon the shaft 55 that it will be im ossible for said shaft to rotate independentl of these pinions that is, to slide around therein-and thus I provide against the minute-hand drop ing a greater distance than is desired, which very often occurs in large clocks where the cannon-pinion 58 is secured by friction solel upon the shaft 55. In order to enable the li ands of a secondary clock to be set, I provide a lever 63, extending behind the operating-arm 28 and lockin arm 62 and pivotally mounted at one en on the under side of a frame member 64, which su ports the electromagnets. This lever-arm is controlled by a spring 65.

A wire or other device (not shown) may, if desired, be connected with the outer end of the arm 63 and passed to the front of the clock, by ulling on which or on the outer end of the ever 63 in a direction toward the face of the clock the o erating-arm 28 and the locking'arm 42 will be swung forward to throw their respective pins out of engagement with the a ertures in the wheel 35, and the hands may then be turned in the ordinary manner or by means of the thumb-nut 57. Usually, however, the hands of all of the secondary clocks are simultaneously moved to set the clocks through the medium of a makeand-break device. (Shown in Fig. 7.) This comprises a spring-arm 66, which is normally out of engagement with a contact-block 67. The arm 66 is connected by a wire 68 with the wire 20, and the contact-block with the Wire 21 by a wire 69. By pressing the arm 66 into engagement with t e contact-block 67 the circuit through the battery will be closed and the electromagnets energized to operate the lever-arm 27. By releasin the arm 66 the circuit will be broken an the magnets denergized. By a repetition of this process the wheel 35 can be turned the re uired distance to set the hands of the secodhary clock 56 at the required position.

While I have only shown one secondary clock, it will be clearly understood that where l a number of secondary clocks are employed the wiring will in princi le be a mere duplication of that shown in I ig. 7.

Referring to Fig. 4, it will be noted that the cam 46, resting against the stud 38, will have a tendency to prevent the pin 32 from comingflut of the aperture in the wheel 35, and in Fig. 5 it will be seen that the stud 38, resting a ainst the cam 46, will have a tendency to we the pin 43 in engagement with the holes 0? said wheel. Thus each of the arms 28 42 are alternately held in 0 erative position by each other, due to the act that the stud 38 alternately en ages opposite sides of the cam 46. It Wlll o course be un dcrstood that the lockin -arm 42 is for the purpose of holding the w ieel 35 in the position to which it has been turned by the operating-arm 28.

It will be seen that I depend to a large extent on the force of ravity for operating the parts of the secondary clock, such power acting uniformly under all conditions, whereas with springs there is apt to be a difference in action, owing to different degrees of temperature and from other causes well known.

By forming the armature 24 segmentshaped or substantially segment-shaped, as shown, I rovide for the re uisite length of throw of t e lever-arm 27, w ile maintaining said armature within easy range of the infiuence of the electromagnets. Were the ordinary flat armature employed, it would have to be suspended at a greater distance Tom the magnets than is the case with the present armature in order to secure the necessary length of throw of the lever-arm 27, and this would require the expenditure of more battery-power.

Should it be attem ted to set the hands of the secondary clock l iy turning the mechanism from the hands without employin the lever 63, this action'would result throu the connection of the gear 54 with the pinion ,53 in turnin the wheel 35. The edge of the hole in w 'ch the pin 32 mi ht then beengaged would bear against the inclined top 33 of said pin and thereb throw the arm 28 outward, so that the stud 38 would not engage the cam 46, and hence the locking-arm 42 would operate through its pin 32 to revent the wheel 35 from turning furt er. Thus the hands are locked against movement in this manner or from having their position disturbed.

Havin thus fully described my invention, what I ciiaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an electric-clock system, in combination with a master-clock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnetaa battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuit breaker, and mechanism, including a vertically-movable operating-arm and a swinging locking-arm, actuated by said electromagnets and coacting to operate the clockwork of the secondary clock.

2. In an electric-clock system, in combina tion with a master-clock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, and mechanism actuated by said electromagnets for operating the clockwork of the secondary clock comprising a vertically-movable operatin arm, and a swinging looking-arm actuated t iereby. V

3. In an electric-clock system, in combination with a mastenclock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, mechanism, actuated by said electromagnets, for operating the clockwork of the secondary clock, comprising a pair of swinging arms having relative en wise move ment, and means for causing said arms to al ternately en age and release the mechanism of the secon ary clock.

4. In an electric-clock system, in combination with a. master-clock having a circuit breaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, mechanism, actuated by said electromagnets, for operating the clockwork of the secondary clock, comprising a pair of swinging arms having relative en wise movement, and engaging devices carried by said arms for causing said arms to alternately engagie and release the mechanism of the secon a clock.

5. n an electric-clock system, in combina tion with a master-clock having a circuit breaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, mechanism actuated by said electromagnets for operating the clockwork of the secondary clock comprising a pair of swinging arms, and engagin devices including a cam carried by one o said arms for causing said arms to alternately engage and release the mechanism of said secondary clock.

6. In an electric-clock system, in combina tion with a master-clock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, mechanism, actuated by said electromagnets, for operating the clockwork of the secondary clock, comprising a pair of swinging arms, and mechanism, com rising a stud carried by one of said arms an a cam carried. by the other, for causing said arms to alternately cnga c and release the mechanism of the secon ary clock.

7. In an electric-clock system, in combination with a master-clock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbrcaker, a pivoted lever-arm carrying an armature for said magnets, and means for operating the clockwork of the secondary clock comprising an operating-arm carried by said lever-arm.

S. In an electric-clock systennin combination with a master-clock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, a pivoted lever-arm carrying an armature for said magnets, a driving-wheel for said secondary clock provided with a circular series of equidistant recesses, a swinging lockingarm adapted to engage in said recesses, a swinging operating-arm carried by said lever-arm and adapted also to engage in said recesses, and means carried by said arms to cause them to alternately engage, and be released from engagement with, the recesses of said driving-wheel in the movements of said lever-arm.

9. In an electric-clock system, in combination with a master-clock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, a driving-wheel for said secondary clock, means actuated by said electromagnets, for operating the secondary clock, comprising a locking and an operating arm adapted to on age said driving-wheel, and means for simu tancously releasing both of said arms for engagement with said driving-wheel to permit the hands of the secondary clock to be set.

10. In an electric-clock system, in combination with a master-clock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, a driving-wheel for the secondary clock provided with a circular series of equidistant apertures, a pivoted locking-arm having a pin adapted to engage in said apertures, a lever-arm carrying an armature for said magnets, a swinging operating-arm carried by said lever-arm and having a in adapted to engage in the apertures of said wheel, and means carried by said operating and locking l arms to cause their pins to alternately engage, and be released from engagement with, the apertures of said driving-wheel in the movements of said lever-arm.

11. In an electric-clock system, in combination with a master-clock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, a driving-wheel for the secondary clock provided with a circular series of equidistant apertures, a pivoted loel ing-lever having a pin adapted to engage in said aper tures, a lever-arm carrying an armature for said magnets, a swinging operating-arm carried by said lcve; arm and having a pin adapted to engage in the apertures of said wheel, means carried by said operating and locking arms to cause their pins to alternately engage, and be released from engagement with, the apertures of said drivingwheel in the movements of said lever-arm, and a Weighted arm secured at one end to said crating-arm.

12. n an electric-clock system, in combination with a master-clock having a circuitbreaker operated by the clock mechanism, a secondary clock having electromagnets, a battery, wires connecting up said battery with said magnets through said circuitbreaker, a pivoted lever-arm carrying an armature for said magnets, a shaft carrying a driving-wheel for the secondary clock, said wheel having a circular series of e uidistant apertures, a pivoted locking-arm aving a pin adapted to engage in said a ertures, an operating-arm swiveled on sai lever-arm and having at its outer end a pin adapted to engage in said apertures, a guide-arm rotatably mounted at one end on said shaft and at its other end pivotally connected to the outer end of said operating-arm, and means carried by said operating and locking arms to cause them to alternately engage, and be released from engagement with, the apertures of said driving-wheel in the movements of said lever-arm.

13. In an electric-clock system, in combination with a masterclock, a secondar clock having electromagnets provided witi cores having circularly-recessed ends, a substantially segment-shaped armature mounted for rocking movement in juxtaposition to said cores, and means, comprising a leverarm secured to said armature, and a vertically-movable operating-arm pivoted to said lever-arm for actuating the mechanism of the secondary clock.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

C. W. JESTER, GEo. E. JEs'rER. 

